Winter term is pretty difficult for everyone, as I’ve come to find out in my first months at Union. I talked about this in length in last week’s issue, but as temperatures have only gotten colder and snow remains unmelted on the ground everywhere on campus, I’d say it’s just as relevant this week. All across campus, winter term has taken a toll on motivation, mental health, and overall activity for myself and others.
The longest I’ll walk on campus is to my farthest class this term, in Bailey Hall, and even that route has been modified with indoor passages. Any extracurriculars beyond that, count me out. Even walking to Reamer for something to eat seems impossible at times (you’re welcome Rathskellar for the business). Needless to say, no one really wants to do anything right now. That is, no one except Union’s own “Side Project,” the student-run visual arts club committed to integrating the sciences and the arts and allowing all students of Union to express their creativity through the fine arts.
This past Saturday, January 20, Side Project embarked on their biggest project yet—a mural of Schenectady in West Dining Hall. Speaking from experience, this mural is humungous, and I sincerely applaud every member who is committed to this project and who came together to work on it this weekend, despite the sub-zero (℉) feels-like temperatures. Hearing about this mural and seeing the creative process in action, I couldn’t help myself from taking a journalistic approach and interviewing Side Project’s two co-curators Sam Crowley ‘24 and Andrea Mullen ‘24.
As a first-year here at Union, I hardly know anything about being in clubs, let alone starting one, so that was my first area of interest when talking to Sam and Andrea. Both shared in the sentiment that it is quite difficult to start a club from the ground up—coordinating with various leaders across campus, building an identity for the club, and reigning in participants—but they both consider it a worthwhile endeavor and are proud of the community they’ve created so far.
One of Side Project’s main goals is to provide a place for all artists to create; not just those involved in artistic/humanities-based majors. Both Andrea and Sam started their Union journey as S.T.E.M. majors, focusing on Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, respectively. After taking some painting and photography classes they really connected with, Andrea and Sam found their true passions and decided to not only change their majors, both to Visual Arts, but also to create a club with the same focus. “I wanted to start the club because I was not able to explore the arts while taking classes in S.T.E.M., and I realized that’s a thing for a lot of kids,” Andrea noted.
Conceptualized in Spring of 2023, and officially named a club in Fall of 2023, their Schenectady mural is Side Project’s biggest piece yet; Sam estimating about six to seven weeks for the entirety of the project. As I stood in awe of the scope of the project, I had to question how this idea came about. Inspired by a previous painting class, Sam drew upon some mural projects he participated in at downtown charities and our very own Reamer Campus Center.
“I thought it would be a good first group project because it’s not too crazy. [I]t’s also very collaborative,” Sam remarked, “so people have a good chance to work together on something.” The two described the design process with lots of communication and collaboration, rolling out a massive blueprint and inviting everyone to draw, sketch, and create at the same time.
The idea to create the mural specifically of Schenectady came from Sam and Andrea reflecting on their experience as first-years. Taking inspiration from West Dining Hall’s reputation as a majority-underclassman common area, the two sought out to create a map of the surrounding town in which Union lies, commenting that when they were first-years, they knew very little about Schenectady and wanted to learn more. Sam described Union as its own bubble, to which Andrea followed, “We’re trying to break out of that.” Side Project sees the Schenectady mural as a way for students and members of the community at all ages to learn about life right outside of Union and intertwine it with Union’s ecosystem as well. Sam describe his hopes for the mural: “Your first year, you come downstairs, and the first thing you see is a map of the town. [It] makes it a lot more accessible, familiar, and less scary.”
Aside from the monumental task that is their Schenectady mural, Sam and Andrea have some big things planned for Side Project, namely professor demos and workshops, introducing students to various branches of the fine arts. The first item on their agenda is a printmaking demonstration led by one of the many talented Visual Arts professors, to teach students about etching and screen printing.
Another hopeful project Andrea and Sam have in mind is an arts market, where students can display their recent work and potentially make network connections for those interested in a career in the visual arts. Drawing back to this idea of inclusivity, Side Project also highlights their recently curated “Side Works” exhibition on the second floor of the Feigenbaum Center for Visual Arts. Curator Andrea hopes that the exhibition can serve to show non-arts students that their work can, too, be displayed and appreciated, without having a direct, declared link to the fine arts.
